Deck 8: Information-Processing Theory

Question 1

Experiments conducted in artificial environments may lack:

A) internal validity.
B) external validity.
C) reliability.
D) control.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

If individuals are assigned to experimental conditions such that each condition appears equally often and each conditions precedes and follows other conditions equally often, then participant assignment has been:

A) random.
B) equated.
C) counterbalanced.
D) proportional.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Participant assignment procedures affect:

A) internal validity.
B) external validity.
C) counterbalancing.
D) experimental design.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Control can help researchers make conclusions about the effects of an independent variable on a dependent variable. However, if control makes an experiment too unnatural, ____ may be compromised.

A) generalizability
B) external validity
C) relevance to the "real world"
D) all of these

Question 5

The counterbalancing procedure in assigning participants to either the experimental group (E) or control group (C) group would be best presented as:

A) ECECECECECECEC
B) EEEEEEECCCCCCC
C) EECCEECCEECCEE
D) CCCCCCEEEEEEEE

Question 6

The best way to eliminated potential confounds that might result from participant assignment is:

A) counterbalancing.
B) randomization.
C) elimination.
D) equating.

Question 7

What does random selection do?

A) increases counterbalancing
B) helps to control systematic confounds
C) helps to make sure the groups are equated
D) increases within-groups variance

Question 8

If you wanted to randomly select fellow students in your class, you could:

A) select those students on the left.
B) pick those students sitting in front.
C) use a random number table.
D) select them as they come to class.

Question 9

Potentially confounding order effects can be addressed with:

A) randomization.
B) equating.
C) counterbalancing.
D) none of these

Question 10

Assigning equal numbers of men and women to each experimental condition is an example of:

A) random assignment.
B) counterbalancing.
C) proportional assignment.
D) an equating procedure.

Question 11

If we have conducted random selection accurately, we would be fairly confident that:

A) there are equal numbers in subject groups.
B) the independent variable has been operationally defined.
C) the sample of subjects reflects the population that we are studying.
D) confounding variables have increased in our experiment.

Question 12

In the example cited in the chapter regarding the study on estimation of time, the first question to be asked is:

A) "Who will be our participants?"
B) "Does the dependent variable have at least two levels?"
C) "How do we assign participants to the groups?"
D) "Is the difference between groups due to a confound?"

Question 13

Potential confounds can be eliminated from experiments by using ____ when assigning participants to conditions.

A) elimination procedure
B) equating procedure
C) counterbalancing
D) all of these

Question 14

Participant selection procedures affect:

A) internal validity.
B) external validity.
C) counterbalancing.
D) experimental design.

Question 15

The question of who our subjects will be in an experiment is most related to:

A) where we are conducting our experiment.
B) the likelihood of Type I errors.
C) our experimental design.
D) the topic being studied.

Question 16

If there is a confounding variable in an experiment, you cannot:

A) know the cause of the outcome.
B) obtain a significant result.
C) select participants randomly.
D) avoid making a Type II error.

Question 17

A professor is advising you regarding the design of an experiment for a thesis. She asks you what you think is the best way to eliminate unintended participant assignment. What is your well-reasoned, educated response?

A) counterbalancing
B) equating
C) operationalizing
D) randomization

Question 18

What technique allows for the control of systematic confounds?

A) random selection
B) bimodal distribution
C) random numbering
D) analysis of variance

Question 19

Using participants in different conditions that "match" on one or more characteristic is known as:

A) randomizing.
B) equating.
C) counterbalancing.
D) operationalizing.

Question 20

If every person in the population has an equal chance of being selected for a study, then selection is:

A) random.
B) equated.
C) counterbalanced.
D) proportional.

Question 21

To assign participants to groups in a truly random fashion, you should:

A) use a random number table.
B) flip a coin.
C) draw names out of a hat.
D) any of these

Question 22

External validity in an experiment is most related to:

A) participant assignment to groups.
B) representativeness of the sample.
C) confounding variables.
D) a pretest.

Question 23

In an experiment, the researcher was unintentionally talkative to one of the participant groups. What best describes the threat to internal validity and why is it a threat?

A) Randomness, since being talkative can make this particular group more relaxed and better able to perform.
B) Participant-maturation interaction, since being friendly to one group can introduce a confound.
C) History, since this unintended interaction was not part of the independent variable, a confound was introduced.
D) Testing, since the other group might feel cheated for being treated more formally by the researcher, and this introduces counterbalancing.

Question 24

Internal validity in an experiment is affected by:

A) participant assignment to groups.
B) representatives of the sample.
C) participant selection procedures.
D) external validity.

Question 25

Random assignment is to ____ as random selection is to ____.

A) control, manipulation
B) conditions, population
C) subject pool, conditions
D) order effects, equating

Question 26

Control in an experiment can be achieved through:

A) random assignment of participants to groups.
B) experimental design.
C) logic.
D) all of these

Question 27

The following experiment illustrates what design?

A) factorial design
B) pretest-only control group design
C) posttest-only control group design
D) pretest-posttest control group design

Question 28

Random assignment of participants to conditions has the advantage over other methods of assignment in that:

A) it places equal numbers of participants in each group.
B) it ensures that each condition precedes and follows every other condition equally often.
C) it controls for known confounding variables.
D) it controls for both known and unknown confounding variables.

Question 29

In a Solomon four-group design:

A) participants who get a pretest also get a posttest.
B) not all participants receive the pretest.
C) not all the participants received the posttest.
D) all participants receive a pretest but not all receive a posttest.

Question 30

If you are at the point where you are deciding who from the population shall be your participants, you should be using:

A) factorial design.
B) random assignment.
C) Solomon's four-group design.
D) random sampling.

Question 31

As an experimenter you've identified some confounding variables that you want to control. But you also think there might be some unknown potentially confounding variables. What method of assignment would be most appropriate?

A) counterbalancing
B) equating
C) cluster sampling
D) randomization

Question 32

For a study to be considered a true experiment according to Campbell and Stanley, there must be at least ____ level(s) of the independent variable.

A) random
B) 1
C) 2
D) 3

Question 33

If we wish the results of our experiment to generalize, we need to pay special attention to:

A) confounding variables.
B) participant assignment.
C) participant selection.
D) all of these

Question 34

The following experiment illustrates what design?

A) factorial design
B) pretest-only control group design
C) posttest-only control group design
D) pretest-posttest control group design

Question 35

Random assignment of individuals to groups:

A) nullifies individual differences.
B) reduces equating.
C) allows the sample to be representative of the population.
D) all of these

Question 36

A pretest-posttest control group design does not control for:

A) effects of the pretest.
B) mortality.
C) history.
D) maturation.

Question 37

To select participants from a pool of potential participant, you should not:

A) use a computerized random number generator.
B) draw names from a hat.
C) select names from a list without trying to pay attention to who the individuals are.
D) use a random number table.

Question 38

A classmate designs the following experiment. What advice would you give him to improve upon it?

A) to specify both groups as receiving zero level of T
B) not to perform a pretest-posttest
C) to randomly assign participants to groups
D) to randomly select participants from the population

Question 39

When assigning participants to groups, you should attempt to control for:

A) as many individual differences as possible.
B) at least two individual differences.
C) just those individual differences that are potentially confounding based on commonsense and past research.
D) sex differences.

Question 40

Which of the following is not a necessary characteristic of a true experiment?

A) a pretest
B) random assignment of participants to groups
C) control of threats to internal validity
D) at least two levels of the independent variable

Question 41

If two groups are equal with regard to the dependent variable at the start of an experiment before the independent variable is introduced, we can assume that the F ratio would be:

A) 0
B) 1
C) >1
D) unknown

Question 42

Outline the Solomon four-group design, indicating its strengths with respect to the control of confounds.

Question 43

What is a true experiment according to Campbell and Stanley?

Question 44

Experimental design must allow for two functions. What are these functions and how can the design help the researcher achieve them?

Question 45

Why is the interpretation of experimental results "easy" if control is achieved by random selection, random assignment, and consistent treatment of subjects?

Question 46

If individuals in different groups are not treated identically except for the independent variable, then:

A) within-groups variance is increased.
B) the F ratio is decreased.
C) a possible confound is introduced.
D) between-groups variance is decreased.

Question 47

Explain how random sampling impacts external validity.

Question 48

Describe the counterbalancing procedure as it relates to random assignment.

Question 49

You are analyzing a journal article that used the Solomon four-group design. You've identified the following groups: What would the fourth group look like?

A) I
B) II
C) III
D) IV

Question 50

Explain why randomization has an advantage over counterbalancing in assignment of subjects to groups.

Question 51

Discuss the logic of experimental design in terms of the F ratio and the null hypothesis. What is the effect on the F ratio of unequal groups at the start of an experiment?

Question 52

Before any treatment is introduced, the variation that exists between two groups that are equal is due to:

A) chance.
B) the F-ratio.
C) the independent variable.
D) the dependent variable.

Question 53

What is the purpose of random sampling? How would you go about random sampling students at your college or university?

Question 54

If two groups are unequal at the start of an experiment with regard to the dependent variable, then the F ratio would be:

A) 1
B) <1
C) >1
D) unknown

Question 55

How do the elimination procedure and the equating procedure reduce potential confounds?

Question 56

What is the difference between participant selection and participant assignment? How does each affect either internal or external validity in an experiment?

Question 57

If an extraneous variable affects all groups equally:

A) within-groups variance is increased.
B) it is more difficult to reject the null hypothesis.
C) there is increased probability of a Type II error.
D) all of these

Question 58

Can random selection or assignment lead to a situation that results in groups being very different even before an experiment begins? Explain you answer.